Monday, February 25, 2008

We first met Lacey as a foster dog. Before I had even seen her, Amanda asked if we would foster a pug cross puppy. Marlin and I had been struggling with the whole foster thing - we would fall in love with all our foster dogs and it was getting harder with each dog to let them go. But when I heard they were pug crosses, I said no problem - I am NOT going to fall for a pug. Don't get me wrong, pugs can be great dogs but I personally prefer larger dogs and on top of being small, pugs have pushed in faces which doesn't allow them to do lots of exercise as they can't cool down as easily as other dogs. We want our dogs to come hiking and camping with us and that pretty much cancelled out a pug as a family member.

The litter's name theme (there were four puppies left behind at an auction - you can see their orignial story here) was "shoes" so we named her Lacey, after Laces.

Marlin stopped by the daycare to pick up Coulee when the pups were being dropped off. He tried to get out of fostering because he took one look at them and knew we were going to fall in love. Were they ever cute!!! Not only in looks but in personality too. Lacey was confident and sassy, yet is content to sit on a pillow and chew a bone while Coulee raced around her fetching toys. She was cuddly and loved to nibble on our noses and ears. We were smitten. And in our defence, she didn't have a pushed in nose so she can hopefully keep up with everyone on the hiking trails. It was a few weeks until a suitable application came in for her. Amanda called to let me know and Marlin and I made a quick decision. She was staying with us.

We are still working on potty training but she is doing pretty good. She'll let us know by walking towards the door but if we don't happen to notice, she doesn't hold it. She is wonderful in a crate - even in the mornings she doesn't cry to be let out when we are getting out of bed. She is as quiet as a mouse in the car and is content to sleep wherever there is a soft surface.

We did a puppy class already and she is GREAT at sitting (it is her default for everything) and she has finally learned down and is learning to sit patiently and wait for her breakfast and supper. We are also doing Rally-O on Wednesday nights and aside from not being able to heel, she is doing quite well.

The last few weeks she started acting weird around people and dogs that we met on walks. So we've been out for more walks, well laden with treats to try and improve her confidence. She had a big day this past Saturday - she went to the indoor dog park and met lots of people, including a few kids. We went for a walk in the afternoon and she saw more people and dogs and then we went to a friend's place for a BBQ and they generously let her stay the whole time (I was just going to bring her for 15 minutes so she could meet the people and see a new place). She did really good and only occasionally barked at someone if they did something "scary" like leave their chair. She did kept hopping up on their couch though...once we brought down the dog pillow though, she settled on that.

Crazy - aka Coulee

Coulee is a 9 year old border collie / golden retriever. She's got the looks of a retriever but inside she is all border collie. She is smart, fast and agile. It is always fun on a walk when she is around.

Little - AKA Lacey

I think Lacey is the cutest dog EVER. She is a 6 year old pug/cattle dog cross. She is cuddly and sweet, playful and independant. Too bad she has that cattle dog bark...otherwise she'd be perfect.